Contents

A Little Note

Illustrations in this fanon (including the main image) are possible because of the epically talented artists there are at deviantart.com and the remarkable generosity they've shown towards me, so I'll take a moment to glorify them first on this page. You'll also see some less attractive drawings that appear as captions from time to time, but those are just my own doodle attempts xP

Also, I have to give a shoutout to Lady Lostris and Bos for helping me with the canon logic in this story. Thanks guys!

This story has been on fanfiction.net for a while, meaning only Chapter 15-onward reflects live updates. But I just like posting here too because of all the options to add captions, boxes, images, etc...well, I just feel special! ^^

Overview

Ba Sing Se is kept balanced by the Dai Li. Under the strict eye of Long Feng, talk of war and even the slightest whisper of rebellion are silenced immediately by the elite earthbenders. Brainwashing, imprisonment, execution, and anything else is fair game to maintain order. Disruptors of the peace must be eliminated at once.

...Right?

Yuhan, a highly talented converter (brainwasher) of rebels, has never found issue with the Dai Li's politics. Without much of a social life beneath Lake Laogai anyway, he's become one of the best controllers of balance and lives to preserve the clueless city. Then out of nowhere, a childhood friendship resurfaces from his past - and blooms into love. Suddenly, there's more to life than brainwashing and terrorism.

It wouldn't have been so bad if the Dai Li hadn't deemed her a disruptor of peace.

Major Characters

He's one of Long Feng's favorite brainwashers, and the Dai Li make great use of his talents by sending him off to work on 2 to 3 hours of sleep. He's modest and doesn't complain, and you couldn't ask for more in an agent with a freakishly sharp perception of others, analytic skills, and earthbending considered formidable even by the Dai Li's standards. Among the things you don't really ask for, though, is social awkwardness outside the job, a tendency to get anything fancy ruined, and death threats at random objects; a sleep-deprived mind is never predictable. Yuhan is as weird a Dai Li agent as he is a super-agent, a contradiction that doesn't escape Long Feng's notice.

An orphan born of the Lower Ring, she grew up in the company of her immigrant neighborhood and has made herself plenty of family in her tight-knit community, seemingly unfazed by a life of poverty. Having witnessed her birth parents fall to the plague and her foster parents disappear before she even turned 13, she deeply respects secrets and the need to keep to oneself. Shy and soft-spoken, she extends a kind, gentle hand in light of her lonely past. However, she won't hesitate to stand up to anything she considers an injustice (unfortunately including misguided opinions), and sometimes hurls insults for good measure.

Yuhan's assigned patrol partner and annoying friend (though he knows that Yuhan just won't admit they're besties). He has all the good qualities of an obedient agent, but he'll take any chance to avoid his duties whenever possible. Few would blame him since his duties basically spell out 'Hitman,' but he's honestly so comfortable with the job that it's probably just laziness. Hiroshu balances life in the Dai Li with the fun of everything else (particularly food) and seems to be enjoying himself. He doesn't like taking anything too seriously, but he's still a pretty dependable companion overall...only when it's needed, of course.

Artwork

For those of you interested, here's the full list in HD resolution of all the professional artwork this story's been blessed with. My friends continually blow me away with their talents and crazy generosity, and I encourage you to check out the rest of their work on DeviantArt.com.

Want to Subscribe?

Feel free to add yourself if you're interested ^^ Or just let me know. Subscribers will receive chapter update messages on their walls and sneak peaks of future chapters. I may occasionally ask if it's a scene I should throw out, too (I typically trash a load of them before I decide what the finished chapter should be :P).

SHiE was nominated by the Fanon Fact Finders and voted by the community, and here Fruipit returns with ByBray and Kuir for an extensive interrogation of the author.

SHiE Bling

This user readsSilent Hero in Emerald.

Want to help spread the glory of the Dai Li? (Ahem) I mean oh, are you a fan of this story by any chance? Just copy and paste {{User:Minnichi/SHiEfanbox}} onto your profile to show it off!

Theme Song!

That's right, the author grew attached to a tune that fits the nature of Yuhan and Riya. ("Nightingale" by Yanni) I guess you could call it their "official" theme just because I hear the piece in my head a lot as I write. My favorite part is that bit at 3:38 where I feel like the two solo instruments interact like a couple. Throughout the song, the main theme grows more complex and more intense, much like the progression of SHiE's events anddd okay, maybe I think too much. But I really encourage you to listen to this piece! It's very beautiful and Avatar-like :D

Is Minnichi a sleep-deprived fanon snail who updates this story way too slowly? (Okay fine, I admit it.) But fear not, for Yuhan is alive elsewhere! Go visit him in Avatar Wiki's most active group fanon, Vortex! Use it as a distraction from excruciating delays as needed... (Full image view)

"This fanon is one of the best on the wiki, no joke. From the start, Minnichi pulled me into the story, and I found myself wanting to continue reading. This incredibly well-crafted tale pulls you in and doesn't let up, and that's exactly what good writing should do."

— XxRin-sanxX of FanFiction.net after it was suggested that Hiroshu could have a love interest.

"SHiE is easily one of the best ongoing -and otherwise- fanons on this wiki. Minnichi is a very talented author who knows how to write and to keep her readers interested. Her eye for detail, for description, for dialogue, and for overall splendid writing is off the charts. "

See Also

Inspiration/Trivia

I like the Dai Li...a little too much. I mean, come on!!! Secret ultimate earthbending ninja police who can make people believe whatever they want? Seriously! Ahem. My need for a story actually started when I saw a work on deviantart that reminded me that these guys are human beings with personalities, too.

Why romance? Well - contrary to popular belief, I don't actually write romance automatically when I want to make a story xD Think of romance as the catalyst of a bunch of other elements in this fanon. It was a necessity in order for a Dai Li agent to want to join the "good" side, not a personal need for me to write it, and learning how to even write it wasn't easy. Anyway, I just have to point out that while romance is prominent in this story, it's more about Yuhan's growth as a character as a result of his feelings, not just...his feelings. If that made any sense. It's not your everyday mushy gushy kissy oogie-scene on every page, so if you were looking for a nice and easy fluffy relationship journey... You are warned. It's darker and more chaotic than you can imagine.

Hiroshu's name was created before "Hiroshi Sato!" my face probably looked a little like ._. when I saw the similarity. But whatever, who likes evil Hiroshi Sato anyway?! (And my OC is better-looking, if anything)

Arriku, creator of SHiE's main image, also drew this picture. So it seems her fanart appears on this site in various forms!

When I say that Lady Lostris helped me with canon logic, I really mean SHiE literally would've been trashed long before it ever reached the wiki if she didn't help. Anyone who likes this story should thank her, too!

During Minnichi's entire first year on Avatar Wiki, SHiE updated a total of 4 times. Yeahhhh, I just have so much time on my hands, I know :P

And Sorry...

I apologize in advance because you're probably going to see this in the activity box a lot more than you need to, due to editing. If there's anything that I should warn you about, it's that this fic is a CONSTANT REVISION. I'm always, always finding something else to fix every time I glance through every chapter. It's a little paranoid habit of mine :X